Alternatives
by Raptor517
Summary: After meditating for three days, Obi-Wan hands Luke off to an old friend, then sets out to rebuild the Jedi Order, while Yoda heads up a Rebellion. Street-wise, Luke still finds destiny drawing him to his fate. Obi/Siri
1. Chapter 1

"Luke," Padme gasped as Obi-Wan took the tiny bundle. For a moment she was quiet, awed by the beauty of her son. "Oh, Luke."

Another wail permeated the room followed by a shriek, Padme's body arching as she delivered another person into the galaxy. The medical droid made cooing sounds, then suddenly reappeared with another child.

"It's a girl," Obi-Wan said with a reassuring smile.

"Leia," breathed Padme, smiling.

To the Jedi holding two small bundles of life, all seemed good once more. For a moment, he forgot the slaughtered younglings, the man he had trained, the same man whom he had left to burn to death. The miracle of a birth had made him forget…_Anakin_.

And then he remembered, his face beginning to twist into a mask of grief. He caught himself, but not before Padme saw.

"Obi-Wan," she whispered softly. "There is still good in him. I know it." She sighed, and Obi-Wan recognized what was about to happen. He'd heard that sigh from hundreds, no, thousands of clone soldiers before they breathed their last. Inside, some small part of his mind was still able to reel in disbelieving horror that he should hear such a sound from Padme.

"There is still good…" and it came. A quiet sigh, the last breath. Slowly her light in Force dimmed and went out. The children began to cry, sensing it. And Obi-Wan cried too, grieving that the Jedi were lost, that Anakin was lost, that Padme was dead, and that her death was the first encounter with the Force these two would encounter.

And Obi-Wan continued to weep.

It had been two hours, and Yoda was deep in thought. Obi-Wan had not reappeared since he had carefully handed the children to the droid and then retreated to his cabin aboard Bail's ship. Uncertain, the Senator and the Jedi Master waited until the droids certified the children safe for travel, then returned to the ship as well.

Bail had waited for Yoda to confidently give orders, but the green gnome had been silent and distracted, until Bail lamely suggested they might try and locate any surviving Jedi.

"Yes, yes; locate any survivors we must," Yoda had muttered, then began to turn and head down the corridor.

"Master Yoda?" Bail had called after him, pausing when the small figure turned. "You'll have to guide us."

"Of course," Yoda had said, calling on the Force for guidance. Suddenly the little master stumbled over an unseen object, then landed on his rump.

"Master Yoda!" Bail had rushed forward, then stopped, realizing he had nearly scooped the Grandmaster from the floor like a toddler. "What's wrong?"

"Incredible, this is," Yoda rose, climbing back to his feet. "Assist as I can, will I. But rely on the Force I cannot."

Bail's eyes widened. "How-?"

"Meditating, Obi-Wan is," Yoda had said, a hint of wonder in his gravelly voice. "The Force surrounds him, flowing into him, it is. I can sense nothing."

"This is…unusual?" Bail had ventured, as Yoda led the way with sudden confidence down to the bridge. To the Senator, who understood little of the Force, it seemed odd that the Grandmaster seemed so cheered at being parted from the very power that made him what he was.

"Unusual, yes." Yoda grunted. "Seen this before, I have not. Heard of this before, I have not. And nine hundred years old I am!"

"What is it?" Bail asked.

"The Force moves through Obi-Wan. A path of correction, it sets before us."

Bail stopped short, gaping at Yoda. "Kenobi will know how to fix this mess?"

"Only the next step, will Obi-Wan know," Yoda said firmly. "And that is all we need."

Hundreds of millions of light years off, a platoon of clones was having a very bad day. A hissing energy blade cut them down without mercy. Even to an inexperienced eye, the wielder of the lightsaber was avoiding the typical elegance associated with the weapon.

This was pure, efficient killing.

As the last one fell the lone figure gathered the Force and picked up all the bodies, tossing them out the containment field into space. A warning flared in the back of her mind, and vanished inside the hatch of the cargo tugger sitting in the bay.

The Jedi remained undiscovered as the pilot remarked to a crew member about the clones taking an early break from their posts, and the ship slipped out and headed down to the surface of a planet unknown to the stowaway.

Brushing a tendril of blonde hair behind her ear, Siri Tachi sank into meditation, and then reached out into the Force, broadcasting a cry across the galaxy meant for one man.

_Obi-Wan?_

Hazel eyes snapped open, and the bearded man suddenly drew a deep breath, as though rising from the dead. Glancing around the room in a little confusion, Obi-Wan took in the surroundings, wondering how long he had been meditating.

_Phew, is that me_? Obi-Wan sniffed once more and wrinkled his nose, then stripped and tossed his clothes into a cleaner before ducking into the fresher for a sonic shower. Judging from his sense of smell and a grumbling stomach, he had been meditating for a _very_ long time.

Both Senator and Grandmaster glanced up as the door hissed open. Obi-Wan stepped in gingerly.

"By the Force, Obi-Wan!" Bail half rose, but was stopped by a raised hand.

"I know, I wasn't expecting it either." Obi-Wan ran a hand through brown hair, peppered with silver. "I've heard of stress doing this to people, but I thought I'd experienced that so many times that it was impossible."

Yoda glanced at the young man, noting his demeanor. "Grieved, you have."

"Yes, master." Obi-Wan glanced to both, then took a seat and a breath. "I know what we need to do."

To his mild surprise, neither said anything, simply looking to him for orders. Then Obi-Wan understood that Yoda had at least perceived somewhat that which had been happening to him for the past three days.

"The first thing is the children," Obi-Wan said, then glanced at Bail. "You find yourself growing close to Leia, no?"

Bail nodded, unabashedly. "My wife and I have always wanted a child. There was a stillborn daughter…we'd like another try."

"She's yours, for a time," Obi-Wan said, noting the distressed look that crossed Organa's face. "Someday, the galaxy will call for her. Prepare her for it."

"I will," Bail acknowledge. "She'll be like a daughter. She _is_ our daughter."

Obi-Wan nodded. "The next bit concerns the both of you. Though the Jedi have rather spectacularly failed their jobs, it's no reason to go hermit – which I admit at first I was considering."

Yoda stirred slightly, but remembered what he had sensed happening to Obi-Wan the past few days and said nothing. Kenobi continued when he saw he would remain uninterrupted.

"To come out and openly oppose the Empire would do us little good," Obi-Wan said. "For now, people are still dazed and starry-eyed. The Jedi are traitors, the Emperor their savior. He uncovered a heinous plot and destroyed it, almost dying himself. He ended the Clone Wars. As of now, the galactic populace will hear nothing bad about him."

Bail canted his head in acknowledgement. "There are a few who are not so enchanted."

"We'll need to find them," Obi-Wan said firmly, "and start organizing."

"Revolt, speak you of?" Yoda finally said, entering the conversation. Obi-Wan shook his head.

"Not for a long time. Not till the blinders come off the galaxy. For the time being we find those who are willing to see and teach them to open the eyes of others. We prepare for war, we pick at the ideas that raise themselves up against democracy." Glancing at the Grandmaster, Obi-Wan continued. "And you will lead it, Yoda."

"Hm, what will you do, I wonder?"

Obi-Wan didn't respond, instead glancing to Bail apologetically. "I'm sorry, Senator, but the grandmaster and I must discuss some things in private. He'll be out shortly to begin coordinating with you."

Bail, recognizing a possible conflict between two powerful Jedi masters while having an alternating desire to share the news with his wife, left rapidly. As the door hissed closed, Obi-Wan turned to Yoda.

"We were wrong."

The bombshell landed and left the room silent for only a moment, then Obi-Wan poured out his explanation.

"We were wrong. The whole Jedi council. How could we on the one hand say that love is of the Force and outlaw attachment? How can we deny feelings of anger? We damned hundreds, if not thousands of Jedi to a way of living that alienated us from the world, and from the Force itself."

Yoda opened his mouth to speak, but Obi-Wan continued passionately, his voice rising even as he stood and paced the room. "No wonder we couldn't see through the dark side into what Palpatine was doing! We alienated ourselves from people, from their _hearts_, Yoda!"

Obi-Wan stared through a viewport into space, then turned around, quieter. "No wonder there's little unrest at seeing the fall of the Jedi. They see us as hypocritical monks. Families are fine for others, but for the Jedi, whom we claim is a normal person who's simply closer to the Force than the average person, the attachment a family brings could bring them closer to the dark side. We're the sword wielding diplomats, keeping guns from being drawn but not giving input for solving society's problems."

"Sound like yourself, you do not, Obi-Wan," Yoda warned cautiously.

"I'm a different person, Yoda," Obi-Wan continued, calmly. "I'm not going to be a biological super-peacekeeping droid-like monk any more. The Force has given me a new path, and I'm following it."

"What path do you speak of, Obi-Wan?" Yoda asked, a little sorrowful. His old friend had been grieved too deeply, he was sure. For now, the grandmaster would ask questions, let Obi-Wan pour out all he had to say, and _then _he would respond. Yet even as he thought this, another part of the wise little gnome observed the calmness, the peace, and the _energy_ that emanated from Kenobi. And it wondered.

"The Force has tasked me with rebuilding the Jedi Order," Obi-Wan said after a pause. "Me, not you."

Yoda was silent, shocked at the statement. Obi-Wan continued. "I will represent a new era. The Force calls for you elsewhere, to be a leader, to influence ideas. But the Jedi are mine."

"Taking Luke as your son, you are?"

Obi-Wan shook his head. "No. I've an old friend who will be Luke's adoptive father. Luke must be trained to be a part of this world. As must I, before I take a new apprentice. We shall train apart."

"The name of Luke's master, I must know." Yoda said. Obi-Wan grinned.

"A non-Force user, named E'taan, and his wife, Valara."

"Know these names, I do not," Yoda said disapprovingly.

"No reason you should," Obi-Wan replied. "They're part of my network of friends and associates. Luke will be getting parents, not simply a Master. I'll be in his life, but as a teacher and friend, and that is all."

"Hmph." Yoda wasn't impressed. "And who will be your new master? Teach you how to be a 'real person', who will do that?"

"Life itself," Obi-Wan replied with a grin. "I'm going to do something I should have done years ago. Sink or swim - its happening."

Standing and crossing over before the grandmaster, Obi-Wan knelt and stared at Yoda, removing his mental shields. "The Force told me clearly to do all these things, and I don't know anything else," he said softly. "Search me and you will see."

Hesitantly Yoda probed Obi-Wan's mind, then recoiled as his presence was struck by the blinding light side of the Force. Opening his eyes once more, Yoda realized Obi-Wan had little idea of the confirmation his old master had just received.

"Right you are, Obi-Wan," Yoda said sadly. "A new generation of Jedi will you raise up, and my blessing you have. The Force is finally with us once more."

"Thank you, master," Obi-Wan said gratefully, before turning and heading for the door. "I've got to give these coordinates to the bridge."

"To what system, go we?" Yoda asked, activating his hoverseat and following Obi-Wan.

"Don't know," Obi-Wan tossed back over his shoulder. _Reckless, he is,_ Yoda mused. _Rubbed completely off on Obi-Wan, Anakin may have. _The grandmaster's humorous musing was struck down with Obi-Wan's next words.

"Siri's alive. When we find her, we're getting married."


	2. Chapter 2

*Note* Everything that has taken place up to the events of the twins' birth is the same as canon dictates, EXCEPT that Siri is alive. And the explanation for that will be discovered shortly.

*Disclaimer* Lucas gets all the money I will never make off this. =)

The bar was a noisy place, and E'taan Delanit preferred it to be so. Striding around a sabaac table, he eyed each of the competitors pointedly. One or two shifted uncomfortably, while the rest ignored him.

A man with tan skin, dark eyes and dark hair, E'taan was of average height and a slightly bigger build than normal. While someone of his stature usually wasn't considered much of a threat in the seedy places of Nar Shadda, his attitude projected a sufficient mix of confidence and meanness to give anyone pause.

Thus he was working in the bar, watching over sabaac games. The wage was crummy, _but then I'm not exactly here for the wage._

He'd already thrown out two cheaters that night; one a nervous kid he identified the moment the youngster came in the door. The other was a professional, and E'taan almost felt bad tossing the man out the door. Usually the regular players left their thugs outside, and the general procedure was a painful beating for anyone E'taan threw out.

So far the game had been clean. A few times he passed over players with an electronic scanner, but all were clean. _There are other ways to cheat, though._

One man had had an exceptional run of good luck, and E'taan considered him carefully. He never won more than three hands in a row, and occasionally lost a good-sized pot – but he was methodically reducing the other players' piles of chips.

A niggling in the back of E'taan's mind sent him stalking purposefully around to the far side of the table from the man, where he reached down and neatly plucked the cards from the hands of a regular.

"Delanit!" The Twi'lek exclaimed, frustrated and thrown off his groove. "How long have we known each other?"

"Not long enough," E'taan replied gruffly, holding the cards up and passing a scanner over them. It beeped that all was okay, and he placed them facedown in front of the yellow-skinned alien. "Sorry."

"You're paranoid, Delanit," he replied.

"I don't think he is," muttered E'taan's human suspect. "I'm folding for this hand."

"I'm not cheating," the Twi'lek, named Ges'tile, said angrily, hands going still on the table.

"You're not," E'taan growled, stepping back and collaring a Rodian who had been entertaining a lady friend at the bar. "But this one is."

The Rodian had sputtered at first, then immediate began burbling angrily. What is this! Can't a being enjoy a good drink without being suspect?

"You're not suspect, you're guilty," E'taan said with finality. "You've been spotting cards for your buddy over there, and here you both sit with almost four hundred thousand credits in your hands."

Leaping to his feet, the human suddenly brandished a blaster. "Let him go, and we back out of here nice and easy." E'taan's eyes narrowed, and the man continued. "I don't know how you caught us, but you're letting us go."

"You're marked, now," E'taan warned. "What are your chances of making it to a ship?"

"Better than what we've got here, with you tossing us to the goons out front," the man said. "Now—"

A sudden _hiss_ cut the air, and man screamed as a tiny dart lodged itself in his inner forearm and unleashed an electrical shock, freezing his arm. Immediately the bulky Rodian threw an elbow at E'taan, who ducked it smoothly and came up with an open hand, grabbing the green face and then slamming the alien's head against the bar.

The Rodian dropped with a cut-off warble, out cold. On the other side of the room, a Barabel had cuffed Blaster-boy across the back of the head to achieve the same result. In two strides E'taan crossed the room and pulled the blaster away, examining it.

"Very nice. Three shot weapon, disposable, but able to get through the sensors at the door."

Around the room, murmurs began flying around the room, some claiming they had seen the throw and others arguing against it. Ignoring them, E'taan retrieved the dart – and then he felt it.

"Dreso, I need a break," he called to the barkeep. The man frowned and glanced under the bar where the medikit was placed, but E'taan shook his head. "I'm good. Need to head home, that's all."

The man nodded, and E'taan ducked outside through a door in the back.

Surprisingly, the alley was deserted – no bums, prostitutes, or spice dealers. Someone, E'taan knew, was projecting a desire into the Force, one that caused the average being to unknowingly find themselves moving on elsewhere.

Sighing, E'taan glanced both ways, hand dropping down to his blaster.

"I don't really have a chance, do I?"

"No," came a voice from right behind him, "you don't."

Yoda was troubled. For the past week he had been meditating and scheming. He had never started a rebellion before – though he had put a few down. Now he was in the unusual position of being on the opposite side – with no credits, no army, and no Jedi at his disposal.

Obi-Wan had made that fact very clear – he would not assist Yoda in anyway except in the direst of circumstances or to take advantage of the best opportunities. So the little green Jedi Master was, in every sense, alone.

After two days of frustration and his mind chasing wild nek trails, Yoda found himself playing a droid a game of holochess.

There were several strategies in holochess, and a few might work for him in starting a rebellion. While Yoda usually favored a defensive strategy, such a thing was pointless, in that the Empire was unaware they were opposed by him.

_Right_, _Obi-Wan was_, Yoda brooded. He would have hidden out on some planet and waited for Anakin's children to mature. Only the revelation from the Force had prevented it, and while humbling, it was also a comfort. If Obi-Wan had known that that was what he was going to do, surely Palpatine figured the same now that Yoda had vanished.

Surprise was his best technique, but the fact of the unknown was his best weapon, Yoda decided. For the moment, almost all public opinion was behind Palpatine. In time that would be eroded as Palpatine's grand speeches became a reality to many. And thus, Yoda decided, a rebellion would have to wait.

But he could prepare. He could begin acquiring weapons and credits. And most importantly, he knew, he had to remove key players from the opposing side.

It was a holochess technique sometimes referred to as "sniping". In amateur chess, one player might set up a defensive line and then use a surprise move to eliminate a power piece. Though one such move might be enough to tip the balance of the game, repeating the process made it more likely.

_And in the holochess of real life, _he thought, _we are behind many pieces_.

Already Yoda was hearing troubling rumors. Darth Vader was hunting down surviving Jedi with the 501st at his back. Whispers of dark persons called "Inquisitors" were beginning to float through the underworld.

Alone, Yoda would readily take the turned Jedi, but he was no fool to try and handle him and several hundred clones at the same time. But these Inquisitors…they sounded like loners, Force-sensitive assassins who struck and left a quiet fear in their wake.

His mind made up, Yoda stood and nodded to the droid, whom he had soundly beaten. "A target, I have," he murmured.

As he hopped into a small ship that Bail had left him, Yoda thought of the millions of clones. Something would have to be done about Kamino, as well. But first things first.

"Obi-Wan?" E'taan's voice was low and urgent. "You're alive! What are you doing here?"

The Jedi glanced up and down the alley. "I came to find you, specifically. How are you?"

E'taan grinned. "Still in up to my neck, as always. Valara is doing well."

"Any children?" Obi-Wan ventured. As soon as E'taan's face darkened the Jedi regretted it.

"No," E'taan said simply. "We try, and have had everything checked out. But we've only been married for a few years. The Force will give us children when we're ready."

"E'taan…" Obi-Wan trailed off, his mind searching for words. "…I can't think of any way to say this except that you were right, which you already knew. The Jedi were wrong. I can't believe that every youngling, including myself, who once lived in fear of the AgriCorps but managed not to go there would come to think that what we did was right."

"It's done," E'taan said simply. "I've made my peace with the Jedi – besides, their sins have caught up with them. What are you going to do now? You can hide out with Valara and I."

"No," Obi-Wan said, tossing back his hood. E'taan eyed the sprinkling of gray hairs and mentally made a bet they hadn't been there a month ago. "I'm going to rebuild the order, but I'm going to do it right."

"Really," E'taan said, folding his arms. "And how are you going to do that?"

"Not sure," Obi-Wan admitted. "As soon as we're done here, I'm going to track down Siri. We're going to get married."

"You're what?" E'taan's voice became a low shout at that, but he caught himself and spoke in a whisper once more. "Guess you came to your senses fully, then."

"Yeah. She's still alive, E'taan – I can feel her presence."

"What's keeping you?"

"This." Obi-Wan lifted a small lunch contain from behind a dumpster. "Will you take him?"

"Him?" E'taan took the container gently, realizing that any sentient in such a small box could not be very old. The lid was cracked for ventilation, and he lowered it slightly, his breath catching as he took in a small, peaceful face. "Who is he?"

"His name is Luke. He's got an insanely high midiclorian count."

"Except in comparison to Anakin's, huh?" E'taan asked glibly. Everyone knew of the Chosen One's twenty-thousand plus count.

"His is the same," Obi-Wan said, his voice suddenly filled with pain. "This is Anakin's son."

"What?" E'taan nearly dropped the box. "Did Anakin – oh, I'm so sorry, Obi-Wan."

"He's not dead," Obi-Wan admitted hoarsely. "He turned – Anakin is now Darth Vader."

Horror chilled E'taan's bones, and in his mind all he could think was _how_? Obi-Wan and Anakin had always been his only heroes in the Jedi Order. The former for his help in escaping the AgriCorps, and the latter because he showed enough of maverick tendency that E'taan had dared to hope the Chosen One would eventually change the Order.

_Careful what you wish for,_he thought dryly. "I'll take Luke – but only on a few conditions."

"Name them," Obi-Wan said warily.

"You let me raise him how I see fit," E'taan said, counting off on his fingers. "You will be a friend, a distant uncle-figure. I reserve the right to tell Luke the truth when I like."

"Impossible!" The word burst from Obi-Wan's lungs, but the look on E'taan's face silenced the rest. Sighing, Obi-Wan nodded. "What else?"

"You'll train Luke in the Jedi arts, but as a tutor. And on my say so. If I'm to raise Luke, I will have full rights as a father would."

Obi-Wan's instincts were going berserk, but the Force suddenly flooded him with a sense of confirmation, and those instincts, tuned to the Force, calmed themselves in response.

"Very well. Luke is your son." Obi-Wan nodded. "Congratulations."

"Thanks," E'taan answered, a broad smile appearing. "I'll take the little guy home to meet his new mum. You're welcome to come by, but I suspect you've got places to be, and a woman to rescue."

"Yes," Obi-Wan answered simply, pausing for a moment before moving to the alley entrance. "I'll be around."

"I know," E'taan said, watching as his old friend donned his hood and vanished. For a moment, the man shook his head at the sudden change in his life, then glanced down at the little form in the box. "C'mon, Luke," he murmured softly, timidly stroking the down on the little head. "Let's go meet the wife."


	3. Chapter 3

_15:09, Planet Azure, 20 BBY_

"Take this, Obi-Wan," Siri whispered, a warm stone sliding into his hand. Involuntarily the Jedi's hand closed around the familiar shape, and tears stung his eyes as he took in Siri's wound. Her Force presence was ebbing, and Obi-Wan struggled to hold back his grief.

She was dying. It couldn't be. But here they were, him kneeling and holding her, and the man who shot her at gunpoint some few yards away.

"Siri, you'll be okay - " Obi-Wan managed, but then cut off by her familiar smirk as she saw through the lie. How soft that smirk had always been toward him. By the Force, how he had fallen in love with that smirk…

Her eyes glazed over, then closed, and a sob was expelled from Obi-Wan, cast from his body as emotion took him. Overwhelming sorrow and grief, interlaced and bound with anger.

_Rage_. He'd felt this before, when Qui-Gon had been stabbed by the hooded Sith. That one time Obi-Wan had given into the dark side – _kill him. Kill him. KILL HIM._

Magus cowered suddenly as Obi-Wan abruptly stood, his lightsaber snapping to life. The docile Jedi Master, the Negotiator, turned suddenly and deliberately and headed his way. And then Magus knew fear.

Obi-Wan's eyes narrowed as Magus began to back up hastily, then fell on his rump and continued his retreat from that position. _Feel fear. Be terrified_. _DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'VE DONE?_

Fry stepped to the side involuntarily, cold terror clutching at his own throat. Something was terribly wrong with Obi-Wan. He was suddenly sinister, and continued his advance on Magus with dark purpose. Obi-Wan was about to commit cold-blooded murder, and Fry suddenly realized it wasn't going to be slow.

_Obi-Wan. Don't._

The words shattered the cold veil that had settled over him, and Obi-Wan paused in confusion. _Siri_?

_Don't do it, Obi-Wan. I couldn't live knowing it._

_I can't live without you._

_You can. Don't do this, Obi-Wan. Let your love for me sustain you._

_We are forbidden to love_—

_And I stand on the brink of Death, Obi-Wan. I can see the Force – and it blesses our love._

Both Fry and Magus backed up suddenly, as Obi-Wan gasped and dropped to his knees, lightsaber clattering away but still switched on. For the Jedi, he could suddenly sense the Force like he never had before. In his mind's eye, he saw Siri, beautiful and perfect, about to enter the Force.

_You see, Obi-Wan_? Siri laughed, and it echoed through the Force, warming Obi-Wan. He _could_ see, he could feel it, he could _grasp_ the assurance the Force had for their bond of love.

_What is this place_?

_I don't know, but it seems wonderful. Goodbye, Obi-Wan – don't forget me._

_No_!

The words were uttered, a cry of desperation to Magus and Fry, and suddenly Obi-Wan was back at Siri's side. The two watching blinked – they had never seen Obi-Wan move. One moment he had been before them, and the next he was twenty feet away.

On a different plane of existence, Obi-Wan seized the Force and Siri, and pulled. The Force responded, pulling her the other direction.

_Obi-Wan!_ Siri struggled slightly. _What are you doing? It is my time!_

_The hell it is_, Obi-Wan replied, bending first his mind, then his will, then all of himself to claiming her. Steadily he pulled her backwards, a tug of war in the Force. Then it rebounded again, and she was suddenly closer to the brink.

Fry looked on, open-mouthed, as a glow suddenly began to permeate the air around the two Jedi. Cradling Siri, Obi-Wan's forehead was touched to hers, one hand cupped behind her head, the other clutching a rock and supporting her back.

_You cannot have her!_ Obi-Wan screamed into the Force, but suddenly found his grip loosening. Had the struggle been physical, Siri would have been torn in two – but here she was still strong and alive, and gods, he loved her. _No!_ His grip was almost broken, and on instinct he called on the Force to supply new and greater strength.

To his shock, it came – and in abundance. It poured into him, filled him and overflowed within. For a brief moment Obi-Wan was stayed by the sensation – every inch, every pore, every cell saturated with the Force, pulsing with the light side. Then he pulled.

She came. Bit by bit they retreated from the light, and Obi-Wan gasped as he came to the end of himself and the Force propelled him onward.

_This is ridiculous_, Obi-Wan's rational mind thought. No being could deprive the Force of its will; and if such a thing were possible, the Force would not so aid him in direct opposition. _Unless…_

_Do you love her_?

Immediately he was overcome with the love, and he poured it all into the Force to be seen, even as he still wondered whether the thought had been his own. _Yes! With all that I have, with all that I am!_

_How bad do you want her_?

_She is mine! I will give all that I have – even my life!_ Obi-Wan screamed into the light.

"Very well."

The words echoed in their minds, and Fry blinked, hearing a deep voice but seeing nothing. Magus hesitated as well, then remembered his intentions and grabbed Obi-Wan's fallen lightsaber and charged.

Several things happened at once. Fry heard the footsteps and the hiss of the saber, and spun, bringing his blaster to bear. Siri and Obi-Wan gasped simultaneously, the former's eyes flying open while Obi-Wan blinked.

The first blaster bolt nicked Magus' shoulder, but he was too close and thrust clumsily with the unfamiliar weapon. To his surprise, there was practically no resistance to the energy blade – with a sizzle, it entered Fry's body just below the heart, then was dragged upward to exit via the shoulder as Magus stumbled.

One scream came from Fry's mouth as he dropped, dead before hitting the ground. Turning, eyes dull, Obi-Wan and Siri saw a man rushing them wielding a glowing weapon.

_Threat_.

Magus screamed as he was struck by an invisible force. The impact alone was enough to break his every bone – the impact against a building some three hundred feet away crushed everything that made up his body – bones, organs, capillaries, cells.

For a moment, Siri and Obi-Wan looked after the man, then both collapsed.

_07:23, Outer Rim, hyperspace. A month after the rise of the Empire._

Blue-gray eyes blinked open and Obi-Wan gasped, feeling like he had been underwater for an hour without a breathing apparatus. For a few moments he breathed heavily, and as his body relaxed, his mind went into overdrive.

_So that was what had happened on Azure_. Neither he nor Siri could remember anything that had taken place there, up to the point where her eyes had closed. They had been found unconscious but healthy, Siri with no mark from the blaster wound.

Yoda had eventually been called in, and after spending time at the site, deduced that Magus had used Obi-Wan's saber to kill Fry. The Grandmaster also detected vestiges of a massive use of the Force, but the signature was completely unfamiliar to him. Magus' charred remains had been discovered some distance away near a building.

It had always been a mystery.

Sighing, Obi-Wan stirred as his control panel beeped a notice that the small ship was reverting from hyperspace – a moment later, the streaks of light returned to pinpoints of stars.

Immediately the Jedi Master could feel Siri's presence on the planet before. Jerne IV was part of the Outer Rim territories, and only maintained a small Old Repu—_Imperial_ garrison there. Until now, obviously.

One _Venerator_ class Star Destroyer was in orbit, and somewhere it's deployed clone troopers were hunting down Siri.

_Obi-Wan? _ Her curious Force inquiry came to him, and he smiled.

_It's me, Siri._

_Get out of here! There are too many of them!_

Obi-Wan smiled as his tiny ship dove through the planet's atmosphere.

_Not for both of us_.

_2 weeks previously, Nar Shadda_

E'taan picked his way through the debris and filth of the hallway. He and Valara lived in a small apartment located in the slums of Nar Shadda. It wasn't pretty, he thought wryly, _and considering that Nar Shadda is considered a slum_, _that's to be expected_.

His Force senses, though limited, were stretching out in every direction, trying to sense any possible threat.

There had been no hesitation when he had seen Luke. Sent to the Agricorps by the Jedi as a young boy, E'taan had a soft heart when it came to the abandoned. He and Valara had always wanted children – they would love this boy as their own.

Ahead he could sense Valara's familiar presence, and her eagerness to see him walk in through the door. E'taan shook his head as he thought of his beautiful wife.

He had rescued her and her brother from being sold into slavery, not six months after he himself had escaped the Agricorps with Obi-Wan's help. The rescue had involved the death of a brothel owner and the overseer of the slave auctions – the result was that the trio was immediately hunted.

He had picked up a few tricks and some real-world knowledge prior to that time – soon E'taan's eyes were fully opened to the underworld. He learned to shoot, he learned to fly, he did manual labor to gain food, he learned how to gain false credentials.

Valara's brother was killed four years later, when E'taan's blaster had run dry as they tried to shoot their way out of a trap. After barely escaping, he learned to use knives, to work the information networks, and became an accomplished slicer.

Eventually they tracked down and eliminated the ones obsessed with hunting them. Suddenly free of pursuit, he and Valara found themselves of age and in love. They had married three days later, and lived in the underworld ever since. It was what they knew.

The door hissed open as E'taan passed his key over the lock, and he entered with the lunch container held carefully.

"E'taan!" Valara came to him, her dark hair shining in the dim lighting. On the cooking unit was supper and it smelled delicious, E'taan realized again with amazement. His wife was dressed in pants and a comfortable shirt topped with a loose jacket – on her belt was a well-used blaster. On the table were their two places to eat, already set. Also accompanying these were stacks of datapads and datacards.

"Working late?" E'taan inquired, leaning in for a kiss.

She complied happily, then nodded as they broke. "I think we've almost got all the evidence we need on that spice team. Looks like we'll be moving in a few weeks."

E'taan nodded, placing his jacket on a nearby rack and the lunch container carefully on the counter. Luke had been sleeping peaceably for the past half hour since E'taan had accepted him from Obi-Wan.

"I've got a surprise for you, Valara," he said casually, trying to hide his broad smile. Occasionally he would come home with a trinket or a note he had written on break – flowers were not only expensive but practically impossible to find on the gangster world.

"What a coincidence, I've got a surprise for you," she responded, moving their meal from the cooking unit to the table. "Bet mine's bigger."

"I doubt that," he responded, bending down to wash his hands thoroughly. No matter what precautions he took, his hands were always grimy by the end of the day. "I could give you fifty guesses and you would never – oof!"

Suddenly finding himself hugged once more from behind, E'taan swiped at his hands with the towel and turned around. "We must have hit the jackpot on this bunch," he managed, before she silenced him with a kiss.

"Shush," she whispered, and E'taan nodded, looking at her with curiosity. For a moment she paused, and then the words came out in a rush.

"E'taan – you're a daddy."

"What?" For a moment E'taan was bewildered, then the news settled in and he whooped, before hugging his wife and whirling her around the room of their sparse apartment. Then the questions flowed.

"For how long? When did you find out? Boy or a girl? Are you feeling okay?"

"Shush," she repeated herself, clamping a hand firmly over his stubbly mouth. "Told you I had the bigger news — what is _that_?"

Startled awake by E'taan's joyous shout, Luke had begun to wail.

Laughing blissfully to himself over their good fortune (and the bewildered look on Valara's face), E'taan took down the container and opened it to reveal Luke's raging face. Hugging his wife to his side as her breath caught, E'taan smiled.

"Here's my news for you: Valara, you're a mommy."

_07:54, Azure IV, present time._

The command center was a shambles. When the clones had arrived and begun scouring the planet's communities for her, Siri had taken a gamble and hidden inside the garrison base. It had almost worked, till a determined commander had pointed the turbolaser emplacements at the surrounding city and threatened to fire on a school for children, certain she was hiding there.

Unwilling to condemn the children to death for her own safety, Siri had revealed herself – by severing the main power conduit inside the command center.

Then the battle for her life had begun.

The command center boasted only a few platoons of clones and their officers, these she dispatched fairly easily – but not before an officer had discovered where she had jacked in to their computer system and had sent messages to Obi-Wan and Ferus, her ex-padawan.

Whereas the ones running the destroyer in orbit would have simply been content to level the command center to the ground, the opportunity to possibly collect the whereabouts of two Jedi from its computer systems was too much to resist.

Information was rare and valuable – clones were efficient, many, and cheap.

Then Obi-Wan had arrived, and it was all over.

Both of them had decimated the clones, Obi-Wan's tiny ship destroying two troop carriers before ground fire shot out his engines. Unhurriedly, he had aimed the ship for the nearest contingent of clones and ejected at the last moment.

_I'm coming, Siri_.

_Too many. Get out_.

A warning in the Force sent Siri glancing toward a wall that exploded inward, even as she cut down a pair of clones. More armored figures filed in, and as she raced toward them to close the distance, she saw the e-web.

Without thinking she threw up her hand and shoved, a desperate attempt to topple the cannon before it cut her down. To her shock, the Force blasted through the ranks, tossing clones into each other and the walls, the e-web and its stand sent tumbling across the grounds outside the command center.

_What_? For a moment Siri gaped at the damage she had done, but another warning in the Force had her spinning as clones closed in on her from behind as they rounded a corner. Then her saber was spinning, deflecting bolts into the walls as fast as she could.

Another surge in the Force tossed the clones down the intersection, and she heard distinctive crunches and cries as they struck the unforgiving walls. The one clone that had dared to enter the corridor and had subsequently avoided the attack spun on his heel just in time to see the sapphire blade that decapitated him.

"Obi-Wan!"

Siri found herself running, and the next moment she was wrapped up in his arms and was _safe_. A few seconds ticked by, and she pulled away slightly. "You're alive!"

"So are you," he responded, more happy than she was. "We've got to get out of here!"

"Obviously, Kenobi," she snapped out of habit, but with no maliciousness. There was something different about Obi-Wan, something she'd never seen before. He seemed too joyful considering the events on the past weeks. _For that matter, he seems too happy to see me, considering what we agreed to put behind us_.

"C'mon." Taking her hand, Obi-Wan led the way out. Soon the clones were on them again, but Siri discovered that Obi-Wan seemed to be more powerful in the Force as well. Most clones were simply batted aside like bugs.

"Siri! On your left!"

"Got it," she responded, spinning her saber to deflect bolts. Picturing the frame above the door, she wished she close off this angle of attack – then the ceiling collapsed, burying most of the clones beneath as she pulled down three stories of durasteel and duracrete with ease.

"What's happened to me?" she yelled, confused, as they emerged from the command center. The roar of a cannon filled the air, and she suddenly found an enormous piece of metal hovering before them like a giant shield.

"We're powering each other through our bond," Obi-Wan responded, dropping the shield suddenly as a break in the fire sounded. Ahead of them two rockets exploded from their ports on a Juggernaut tank, one of the Empire's most deadly ground machines. Designed to shatter armor, the rockets homed in on Obi-Wan instead.

Clones cried out in alarm as Obi-Wan batted the rockets away with the Force while Siri found herself acting instinctively to protect him. Suddenly the tank rose seven meters in the air and was torn in half, each portion slamming back into the ground.

"Bond?" She could feel it, though. Pulsing with their shared connection to the Force, she realized it had been there a long time.

She and Obi-Wan stood back to back now, calmly deflecting blaster bolts back to their senders as they spoke.

"You'll understand it all in a moment," Obi-Wan assured her. "Save that one," he added, nodding to the clone commander.

Unable to see the movement but able to sense it, Siri nodded. A split second later the surviving clone found himself seized by an invisible force and hauled in front of the two Jedi. The male, Obi-Wan Kenobi, looked at him simply.

"Call the commander on the ship. The Jedi are dead; request medical assistance and a cleanup crew. You will be departing soon in a shuttle to deliver the data to Darth Vader."

The clone nodded, eyes glazed over inside his helmet as he began to submit the orders.

"This is too easy," Siri observed, glancing around. Aside from the crackling fires around them and the speaking clone a few feet away, all was quiet. "What next?"

"We're getting out," Obi-Wan replied, leading the way to the shuttle. Five minutes later they were breaking orbit and Obi-Wan was punching in coordinates.

"What's this about a bond?" Siri finally asked. "I can feel it now – but when?"

Sighing, Obi-Wan placed his hand on her forehead, and suddenly she was swarmed with forgotten memories. Being shot, giving a rock to Obi-Wan – a glorious warm place, with lots of life. Obi-Wan confessing his love, devotion…

Her eyes snapped open, and she glanced around the cockpit groggily. It had been three hours. Sighing, Obi-Wan opened his eyes also, his hand dropping from her head to stroke her hair.

For a moment, all was quiet, and Siri glanced at their destination.

"Dac? We're going to visit the Mon Cals?"

"I have a friend there who will be able to conceal us for a week," Obi-Wan murmured. "He's also licensed to perform marriages."

"Hm." Siri laid her head against his shoulders. "Marriage, a week-long honeymoon on an ocean world – what's next?"

Obi-Wan smiled. "One thing at a time, darling."


End file.
